Tuesday, August 16, 2011

stay - hotel des arts

this past weekend heidi sprung for a trip up to SF to surprise my parents in conjunction with my birthday. we flew up on friday night, stayed at the doubletree near the SFO airport, then barged in saturday at noon with the good news. luckily they were home; otherwise, it could have been one long afternoon...

since outside lands was going on all weekend at golden gate park, hotel rooms in the city came at a premium. fortunately, a room opened up at the hotel des arts, a boutique hotel unique in that each room is painted by a different emerging artist. i've had my eye on this place for a few years and was excited to finally check it out.

when you book a room there, one can list their top artist choices and they do their best to accommodate each request. i went with damon soule, eric orr and kate durkin in that order - the shepard fairey suite was taken - and they came thru with room 206 (damon soule). a brief look inside our room:

and a few snaps of the hotel, including the colorful courtyard directly outside our window, accessible by simply stepping out:

i loved the fact that there's art everywhere you look (lobby, staircase, hallways, etc.), and most if not all is up for sale. plus, the hotel is centrally located - mere steps away from union square, chinatown and the financial district.